This section of the News and Media Services department site tracks stories in print and broadcast media that feature Auggie faculty, students, and staff. The area also is home to material developed for University-related programs, events, and more.
An international group of scholars has issued a statement denouncing the misuse of the legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in support of political violence and Christian nationalism in the U.S. Augsburg faculty member Lori Brandt Hale, an internationally recognized Bonhoeffer scholar, co-authored the statement alongside several members of the International Bonhoeffer Society, where she serves as president of the English Language Section. Brandt Hale was interviewed by Religion News Service about the project.
Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident, was executed by the Nazi regime in 1945 for his participation in a conspiracy against Hitler.
“Any attempt to invoke Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his resistance against Hitler as a reason to engage in political violence in our contemporary context must be strongly opposed,” the statement reads. “Dietrich Bonhoeffer himself provides the best defense against these misuses of his life and work. He did not ask, “how far will you go?” He did not ask, “is this a Bonhoeffer moment?” Bonhoeffer’s life was defined by the question, “Who is Christ for us today?” With this question, Bonhoeffer teaches us that Christ is to be found in the presence and suffering of the neighbor, whether across the street or across the border. With this question, he has inspired Christians and non-Christians around the world to work for a society based on solidarity and humanity.”
The statement has been co-signed by prominent scholars and church leaders in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop emeritus, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and former president, Lutheran World Federation; Susan C. Johnson, national bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; Karen Georgia Thompson, general minister and president/CEO, United Church of Christ; Konrad Raiser, general secretary emeritus, World Council of Churches; Kirsten Fehrs, acting chair, Council of the Protestant Church in Germany; Christian Krieger, president, Conference of European Churches; and Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.
Following the release of the statement, 86 of the 100 living descendants of the Bonhoeffer siblings published an open letter, echoing the scholars’ concerns. It is the family’s first public statement about Dietrich Bonhoeffer since 1945.
Professor Brandt Hale specializes in Bonhoeffer’s life and legacy in her research, teaching, and public scholarship. She is the co-author, with Stephen Haynes, of “Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians” (Westminster John Knox, 2009) and the co-editor, with W. David Hall, of “Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theology, and Political Resistance” (Lexington Books, 2020). She was a keynote panelist at “Democracy and Discipleship—Lessons from Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Polarized Times,” a two-day conference hosted at Augsburg in July 2024. Professor Brandt Hale currently also serves as the director of Augsburg’s school of humanities and social sciences and teaches in the department of religion and philosophy.
In a guest commentary published by the Minnesota Star Tribune, Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow argued that urban colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to cultivate an inclusive democracy.
“What does it look like for higher education to be place-based, to settle into urban settings and be good neighbors, and to believe that our academic missions compel us to both educate students and care about the world into which they will graduate?” he wrote. “… It’s not simply a matter of sending individual students out into the city. One-way engagement is not sustainable. Instead, place-making work only succeeds if it is grounded in mutual benefit with community partners.”
Augsburg University announced today that Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 will step down at the end of May 2025. A six-time national wrestling coach of the year, Swenson led the Augsburg athletic program through a period of unprecedented growth, improvement and athletic success while prioritizing equity, inclusion, and academic excellence.
“It’s hard to overstate Jeff Swenson’s impact on intercollegiate athletics at Augsburg over the past five decades,” said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. “It can’t be measured solely in statistics or even championships, impressive as those numbers may be. Jeff’s true legacy is the generations of student-athletes who found identity, purpose, and belonging through athletics under his leadership.”
Swenson has been a vital part of the Augsburg community since 1975. As a student-athlete, he was a standout wrestler, winning an individual national championship in 1979. He joined the Augsburg athletics staff after graduating and was named men’s wrestling head coach in 1980. In 25 seasons as head coach (1980–84 and 1986–2007), Swenson led the Auggies to a record 10 NCAA Division III national championships and 20 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team titles. He was named MIAC Coach of the Year 13 times and NWCA National Coach of the Year six times. In 2002, Wrestling USA Magazine named Swenson National College Coach of the Year.
Swenson also served as an assistant football coach for 10 seasons and director of the alumni office before moving into athletics administration in 2001 and becoming athletic director in 2007. During his tenure, Augsburg’s student-athletes have consistently performed at the highest level in and out of the classroom, earning a 3.17 average GPA in 2023–24. Since 2001, 42 Auggies have received Academic All-American honors from College Sports Communicators, considered the highest academic award in college athletics.
Over that same period, Augsburg teams won 32 MIAC team championships, received 83 berths in MIAC postseason playoffs with nine playoff titles, and appeared in NCAA Division III national tournaments 18 times. Augsburg was the first university in Minnesota to add women’s lacrosse as a varsity sport (in 2012), and is the only four-year college in the state to currently offer women’s wrestling.
“As we celebrate 100 years of Augsburg athletics, and having been a part of athletics here for nearly 50 years, counting my undergraduate years, my family and I felt that the time was right to make a transition,” Swenson said. “I’m looking forward to helping Augsburg transition to the next athletic administrative team, and finishing up our fundraising for the men’s locker room project and other university priorities. I’m excited to watch Augsburg University and our athletic program continue to improve, grow, and prosper in the future.”
Under Swenson’s leadership, Augsburg invested in significant upgrades to athletics facilities, including the completion of new classroom, locker room, fitness center, and wrestling center facilities in the Kennedy Center; the completion a new sports medicine center and renovation of the women’s locker room in Si Melby Hall; new turf and dome at Edor Nelson Field; and updates to the Augsburg Ice Arena. From mentoring young coaches to strengthening alumni connections, Swenson also made it a priority to invest in people, strengthening the community of support for Augsburg student-athletes long past graduation.
“Jeff embodies integrity, honesty, and sportsmanship—all values we hope to instill in our student-athletes as they develop into engaged citizens and leaders in their communities. We are grateful beyond words for his extraordinary commitment and faithful service to Augsburg,” said Pribbenow.
“My goal has always been to provide the best possible experience for our student-athletes and to improve one percent each day in everything we do. I hope we’ve accomplished that in the areas I’ve had the opportunity to be part of at Augsburg during the last five decades,” said Swenson.
Following his transition next May, Swenson will assume a special assistant role in Augsburg’s Office of the President. A national search for his successor will commence in early 2025.
Like many colleges, Augsburg University has seen a rise in demand for mental health services in recent years. But despite the growing need, students who are BIPOC, low-income, or first-generation often experience unique barriers to seeking help with mental health or substance use issues.
“Two of the gifts of our community—our diverse student body and our location in the heart of Minneapolis—mean that a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to mental health doesn’t work here at Augsburg,” said Michael Grewe, dean of students. “Many of our students come from immigrant communities that have experienced multiple forms of oppression and trauma, and our campus sits just a few miles from where George Floyd was murdered in 2020. This translates to a significant need not only for trauma-informed mental health services but also for a trauma-informed campus community.”
Augsburg recently received a grant of nearly $300,000 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to improve students’ ability to access culturally relevant mental health and substance use prevention and intervention services. The grant will support the Auggie Well-Being project, an initiative to promote help-seeking and reduce stigma among underrepresented and under-resourced students.
Systemic barriers to seeking help can stem from cultural stigma, fear of discrimination, past experiences of discrimination or criminalization, lack of comfort with Western mental health care systems, or lack of awareness about mental health challenges that could benefit from counseling or other interventions. The Auggie Well-being project calls for outreach, training, and community programming to address these barriers. Over the three years of the grant, Augsburg will:
Educate students about mental health concepts and services through campus-wide and targeted promotion initiatives in multiple languages, including Spanish, Hmong, and Somali.
Implement required training for faculty, staff, and student leaders on evidence-based strategies to identify and respond to mental health or substance use-related issues.
Promote help-seeking behavior and reduce stigma through programming on culturally relevant mental health and wellness frameworks and resources.
“Our goal is ultimately to normalize and make it easier to ask for help, especially for our students with complex challenges,” said Grewe.
Augsburg is one of 30 institutions nationally to receive a grant in 2024 through SAMHSA’s GLS Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program. The program aims to support a comprehensive public health and evidence-based approach that enhances behavioral health services for all college students, including those at risk for suicide, depression, serious mental illness/serious emotional disturbances, and/or substance use disorders that can lead to school failure; prevents and reduces suicide and mental and substance use disorders; promotes help-seeking behavior and reduces stigma; and improves the identification and treatment of at-risk college students so they can successfully complete their studies. SAMHSA, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, leads public health efforts to advance behavioral health.
It’s not every day that Twin Cities high schoolers get to flex their skills in front of Coach Walz.
Coach Gwen Walz, that is.
Just a few weeks into the school year, four high school debaters faced off tonight in front of state and local leaders, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz opened the program at the Minnesota Urban Debate League’s 12th annual Mayors Challenge event, held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
“What educators and coaches work at and dream of is the possibility of transformation—for students to find their voices, to articulate their ideas, and to challenge, most of all, themselves,” said Walz, a member of MNUDL’s board. While Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is known for his time as a football coach, Gwen Walz started and coached the debate program at Mankato West High School, where both Walzes taught prior to their time in public office.
On Wednesday night in Minneapolis, Ani McQuillen of Roosevelt High School, Minneapolis, and Max Ulven of Central High School, Saint Paul, argued the affirmative on issues related to AI. They debated Laura Afriyie of Tartan High School, Oakdale, and Sai Yang of Johnson High School, Saint Paul, arguing the negative. All are members of their schools’ debate teams, hosted by MNUDL.
“Debate is more than an extracurricular program: It’s a leadership pipeline for our young people,” said Amy Cram-Helwich, MNUDL’s executive director. “Students gain crucial skills in debate that set them up for success in the classroom and in life. Our vision is that these benefits should be available to every Minnesota student.”
Following the debate, the students interviewed Frey and Carter onstage, asking questions about climate change, education, city parks, and the process to change policy. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, also a former speech and debate competitor, delivered a fireside chat on AI and election integrity. Minnesota Representative Cedrick Frazier received the 2024 Champion of Change award for his work in education, criminal justice reform, and workforce development. MNUDL gives out the award annually to a changemaker who models courageous leadership.
Since 2012, the Mayors Challenge event has brought together education advocates from across the Twin Cities to watch an empowering, informative showcase debate and invest in the future of urban debate. Debate has been shown to positively impact literacy, self-esteem, critical thinking, attendance, and test scores. Students who participate in debate develop the capacity to engage in civil disagreement and civil discourse, skills that are essential for citizenship in a multicultural democracy.
“If ever there was a time to lift up the idea of finding respectful ways to disagree with one another, it is now,” said Walz. “If ever there was a time to research, and discuss, and engage one another in issues of great importance, it is now. We come together around the most important of ideas: of enhancing education for the good of our students, of making schools better with discourse that is not all of one mind but is diverse and varied and rich in its contemplation—and in hopes that our democracy might look much more like a debate team.”
About MNUDL
TheMinnesota Urban Debate League is a program of Augsburg University that provides resources and programming to support competitive academic debate in Twin Cities high schools and middle schools. The mission of MNUDL is to empower students through competitive academic debate to become engaged learners, critical thinkers, and active global citizens who are effective advocates for themselves and their communities. Currently, MNUDL serves more than 1,300 students at 40+ partner schools and has seen sustained growth in student participation since its inception in 2004, in programs including national topic policy debate, middle school debate, Spanish Debate League, East African Debate, Financial Literacy Leadership Debates, and MDAW Summer Speech & Debate Camp.
About Augsburg University
Augsburg University offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees to more than 3,200 students of diverse backgrounds at its campus in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities. In 2023, U.S. News & World Report identified Augsburg as the most ethnically diverse regional university in the Midwest. Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings.
Media contact: Rachel Farris, farrisr@augsburg.edu
Augsburg University’s Interfaith Institute was recently awarded a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. Funding will be used to create a Muslim-led cohort of students from colleges throughout the Midwest; these students will offer interfaith leadership opportunities for their campuses. Cohort members will receive skill-building around topics like best practices for interfaith engagement in higher education and how to address campus conflicts involving religion.
“We are excited for this opportunity to share Augsburg’s interfaith learnings with other campus communities,” says Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive director of the Interfaith Institute at Augsburg. “These students will become interfaith leaders who are equipped to facilitate dialogue and build bridges within their communities and throughout their professional lives.”
The project aims to build capacity on college campuses for Muslim students to lead interfaith engagement among their peers. Located in the culturally diverse Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, Augsburg is uniquely equipped to carry out this work, with 66% of undergraduate students identifying as Black, Indigenous, or as People of Color, and over 12% as Muslim. Interfaith engagement is a core aspect of Augsburg’s academic mission and strategic plan. The university launched the Interfaith Institute in 2018 and appointed Najeeba Syeed as the inaugural El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive director in 2022.
The $189,630 grant will be distributed between August 2024 and July 2026. The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations’ Interfaith Leadership and Religious Literacy program area supports organizations that invest in courageous multi-faith conversations and collaborations.
More than 80 Augsburg University undergraduate students were named to the 2024 Summer Semester Dean’s List. The Augsburg University Dean’s List recognizes those full-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and those part-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.75 or higher in a given term.
Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow and Provost Paula O’Loughlin spoke to national media this week about Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz’s work at Augsburg. Both were interviewed for a CNN feature about Minnesota’s First Lady in the lead-up to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where Governor Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president Wednesday night.
Gwen Walz has held appointments at Augsburg as an instructor of education and a special assistant for strategic partnerships in the Office of the President since 2019. “[W]hat she will say all the time, is, ‘I’ll make it happen,’” said O’Loughlin. “She’s very cognizant of how things affect other people all the time.”
On Thursday morning, Pribbenow appeared on CNN live to discuss Walz’s background, commitments, and connections to Augsburg.
Augsburg University is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award, First Decade Award, and Spirit of Augsburg Award. These outstanding alumni will be recognized at a public ceremony and reception on October 11 as part of Augsburg’s 2024 homecoming and reunion weekend.
Distinguished Alumni Award
The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes significant achievement in vocation, for outstanding contribution to church and community, and for a life that exemplifies the ideals and mission of Augsburg University. The 2024 honorees are:
Brian Greseth ’83, educator and superintendent, Glades County School District (Okeechobee, FL)
Vicki Ellingrod ’89, dean of the College of Pharmacy and John Gideon Searle Professor of Translational Pharmacy, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)
Judge Pamela Alexander ’74, retired Fourth Judicial District judge for Hennepin County (Charlotte, NC)
First Decade Award
The First Decade Award is presented to Augsburg graduates of the past 10 years who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community, and in so doing exemplify the mission of the university. The 2024 honorees are:
Promise Okeke ’15, CEO, NovoPath (New York, NY)
Kirubel Frew ’14, vice president of business development, Viz.ai (Boston, MA)
Spirit of Augsburg Award
The Spirit of Augsburg Award honors alumni and friends of the university who have given exceptional service that contributes substantially to the well-being of Augsburg by furthering its purposes and programs. The 2024 honorees are:
Boyd Koehler, associate professor and librarian emeritus (Minneapolis, MN)
Martha Gisselquist ’86, Augsburg Health Commons volunteer and supporter (Bloomington, MN)
Democratic engagement is a deeply held value at Augsburg University. This year, an unusual connection to the 2024 U.S. presidential contest promises an extraordinary level of interest and opportunity for Augsburg students around the upcoming election.
Since 2019, Minnesota’s First Lady, Gwen Walz, has held appointments as an instructor of education at Augsburg and as a special assistant for strategic partnerships in the Office of the President. At Augsburg, she has helped develop and co-teach a master’s-level education course called “Connecting Policy, Practice, and Advocacy for Educational Equity.” She has worked to build connections between campus programs and state agencies to offer internships and experiential learning opportunities. And she has worked closely with the Provost’s Office to encourage voter participation and democratic engagement.
Now, students who were used to seeing Walz on campus will see her in a different context. On Tuesday, Vice President President Kamala Harris announced Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the November presidential election.
“Governor Walz’s selection as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for education and engagement around this election cycle,” said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. “It’s a wonderful reminder for our students that whether on a college campus or in our nation’s capital, the hard work of democracy, at its core, is the same: finding ways to come together across difference to work for the common good.”
Augsburg University offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees to more than 3,100 students of diverse backgrounds at its campus in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities. In 2023, U.S. News & World Report identified Augsburg as the most ethnically diverse regional university in the Midwest. Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings. Learn more at augsburg.edu.
Media Contact
Rachel Farris Director of Public Relations and Internal Communication farrisr@augsburg.edu 612-330-1476
